BACKGROUND: Police officers are often required to undertake physically demanding tasks, like lifting, dragging and pursuing a suspect. Therefore, physical performance is a key requirement. METHODS: Retrospective data for 76 male police officers (mean age = 39.42 ± 8.41 years; mean weight = 84.21 ± 12.91 kg) was obtained. Data included anthropometric (skinfolds, estimated percentage body fat, lean body mass and fat mass) and physical performance (1 Repetition Maximum Bench Press, 1–min sit-ups, 1-min push-ups, vertical jump, 300 m run, 1.5 mile run) measures and correlations between anthropometric measurement and fitness score were obtained. RESULTS: Estimated percentage body fat was significantly (p ≤ .001) and negatively correlated with all performance measures, except sit-ups and 300 m and 1.5 mile run performance. Estimated lean body mass was significantly and positively (p ≤ .001) correlated with push-ups, bench press and vertical jump measures, while increasing estimated fat mass was significantly (p ≤ .001) associated with reduced performance on sit-up, vertical jump, 1.5 mile run and estimated maximal voluntary oxygen uptake. CONCLUSIONS: A targeted approach, going beyond just decreasing percentage body fat to also selectively increasing lean mass, should be applied for optimal improvement in physical fitness performance.
Adipose Tissue ; Cohort Studies* ; Humans ; Jurisprudence* ; Law Enforcement* ; Lifting ; Male* ; Oxygen ; Physical Fitness ; Police* ; Retrospective Studies*

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate factors associated with heart rate variability in firefighters working in a metropolitan city in South Korea. METHODS: Self-administered questionnaires including Korean Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS) as well as surveys collecting socio-demographic characteristics and work-related factors were given to 962 firefighters. After exclusion for missing data, 645 firefighters were included, and analysis of covaiance adjusted for the general risk factors and job characteristics were used to assess the relationship between heart rate variability and associated factors. RESULTS: SDNN and RMSSD and were decreased in the area of occupational climate of the group with high job stress (p = 0.027, p = 0.036). HF(ln) was decreased in the area of organizational system and occupational climate of the group with high stress that statistically significant level (p = 0.034, p = 0.043). CONCLUSIONS: Occupational climate and organizational system are associated with reduction of heart rate variability. Preventive medical care plans for cardiovascular disease of firefighters through the analysis and evaluation of job stress factors are needed.
Cardiovascular Diseases ; Climate ; Firefighters* ; Heart Rate* ; Heart* ; Humans ; Korea ; Risk Factors

BACKGROUND: Gejang (marinated crab) is a favorite traditional food and a main source of crab intake among Koreans. The present study aimed to identify the possibility of cadmium inflow to the body through gejang; accordingly, the relationship between gejang intake frequency and amount, and blood cadmium concentrations was investigated. METHODS: Using data from the first Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in the sixth period in 2013, means and standard errors of blood cadmium concentrations in relation to gejang intake frequency and amount, as well as the monthly intake of gejang, were obtained from 1381 participants for whom data regarding blood cadmium concentration measurements was available. RESULTS: After adjustment for confounding factors, a gejang intake frequency of four or fewer times per week and a monthly intake of 200 cm3 or less had no significant effect on blood cadmium concentrations. However, participants with gejang intake of at least five times per week had a weighted mean cadmium concentration of 2.12 μg/L (p < 0.001), and participants who had a gejang monthly intake of more than 200 cm3 had a weighted mean cadmium concentration of 1.76 μg/L (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that to minimize the effect of gejang consumption on blood cadmium level, gejang intake should be limited to four or less times per week and 200 cm3 or less per month. Weekly intake of at least five times and monthly intake of more than 200 cm3 may increase blood cadmium levels.
Cadmium* ; Korea ; Nutrition Surveys

BACKGROUND: The present study investigated the prevalence of depressive symptoms in older Koreans and identified associations between depressive symptoms and occupational factors. METHODS: Data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey V (2010–2012) were used to analyze 7320 participants aged 55 years or older. Complex sample logistic regression analysis was performed after adjusting general characteristics to determine associations between depressive symptoms and occupational factors. RESULTS: Among older Korean men, the prevalence of depressive symptoms in the employed and the non-employed groups were 9.9 % and 13.7 %, respectively. Employment status was significantly associated with depressive symptoms after adjusting for general factors (OR: 0.69, 95 % CI: 0.49–0.97). Among older Korean women, the prevalence of depressive symptoms in the employed and the non-employed groups were 17.4 % and 20.3 %, respectively, but employment status was not significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Second skill level occupational groups (clerks, plant and machine operators) in particular showed significantly lower prevalence of depressive symptoms than the non-employed group of men (9.3 % vs 13.7 %). By occupation type, the odds ratios were 0.31 (95 % CI: 0.10–0.97, clerks) and 0.47 (95 % CI: 0.23–0.86, plant and machine operators) adjusting for general factors. CONCLUSIONS: The employed group showed lower late-life depressive symptom prevalence than the non-employed group among older Korean men. In addition some second skill level occupations (clerks, plant and machine operators) were significantly associated with a lower risk of depressive symptoms after adjusting for general factors in older Korean men.
Depression* ; Employment* ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Occupational Groups ; Occupations* ; Odds Ratio ; Plants ; Prevalence

BACKGROUND: An association between silica exposure and autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis has been made. CASE PRESENTATION: A 56-year-old male presented with silicosis and had an occupational history of precious metal processing for 30 years and a 30 pack-year smoking history. The patient was diagnosed with pneumoconiosis and received compensation. No other complications were reported for pneumoconiosis. The patient suddenly presented with a non-specific headache for several days and microscopic hematuria was identified upon examination in the outpatient clinic. Following several weeks, the patient presented with aggravated dyspnea and hemoptysis, and his Modification of Diet in Renal Disease estimated glomerular filtration rate indicated acute kidney injury. Diagnostic analysis revealed perinuclear ANCA-associated microscopic polyangiitis (p-ANCA-associated MPA). CONCLUSION: Exposure to silica dust was likely one of the cause of p-ANCA-associated MPA. Possible pathogenic mechanisms of autoimmune diseases in silicotics and emphasis of the necessity for early diagnosis are discussed.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Compensation and Redress ; Cytoplasm* ; Diagnosis* ; Diet ; Dust ; Dyspnea ; Early Diagnosis ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Headache ; Hematuria ; Hemoptysis ; Humans ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; Male ; Microscopic Polyangiitis* ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Exposure ; Pneumoconiosis ; Scleroderma, Systemic ; Silicon Dioxide ; Silicosis ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Vasculitis

BACKGROUND: Older yet still abundant munitions such as tetryl present easily forgotten health hazards and associated needs for worker protection. CASE PRESENTATION: Symptoms and findings from 22 workers who were exposed to tetryl are summarized. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the health hazards from exposure to tetryl. Occupational health professionals need to maintain vigilance to protect workers from the risks of handling older munitions.
Occupational Health ; West Virginia

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate factors associated with increased risk of mortality from pneumonia among patients with pneumoconiosis. METHODS: Medical records of 103 pneumoconiosis patients hospitalized for pneumonia were investigated. Seven patients who had lung cancer or other malignancy and 13 patients with insufficient medical record were excluded. Two female patients were excluded due to small number to analyze. The subjects were divided into two groups by clinical outcome of pneumonia, the deceased group and the survival group. The two groups were compared in terms of age, smoking history, episode of recent pneumonia, concomitancy of interstitial fibrosis or fungal ball infection, extent of small opacities, grade of large opacities and results of spirometry. Multiple logistic regression was applied to determine the association between these variables and mortality from pneumonia. RESULTS: The deceased group showed more frequent history of recent pneumonia (p = 0.006), higher prevalence of interstitial fibrosis (p = 0.007) and longer hospitalization period (p = 0.044). The proportion of subjects who had decreased FVC, less than 70 % of predicted value, was higher in the deceased group (p < 0.001). In multiple logistic regression, after adjusting age, smoking history, recent pneumonia, fungal ball, large opacity, profusion and FVC (or FEV1) less than 70 % of predicted value, history of recent pneumonia, concomitancy of interstitial fibrosis, type of pneumoconiosis and fungal ball presented statistically significant association with mortality from pneumonia. CONCLUSIONS: The concomitancy of fungal ball or interstitial fibrosis, history of recent pneumonia within last 90 days, type of pneumoconiosis, FVC less than 70 % of predicted value, FEV1 less than 70 % of predicted value presented statistically significant association with mortality from pneumonia. More attention should be given to patients who have such factors when treating pneumonia with pneumoconiosis.
Female ; Fibrosis ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Lung Neoplasms ; Medical Records ; Mortality* ; Pneumoconiosis* ; Pneumonia* ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Spirometry

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to identify the relationships between borderline serum liver enzyme abnormalities and the incidence of impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and diabetes mellitus (DM) during a 7-year follow-up of workers, and to evaluate the quantitative level of risks. METHODS: A total of 749 workers in an electronics manufacturing company were divided into the normal fasting blood glucose (n = 633), IFG (n = 98), and DM (n = 18) groups, according to the results of their health checkup in 2006. Among 633 workers in the normal group, excluding 55 workers who were impossible to follow, incidence rate and relative risks of 578 workers to the IFG or DM in 2013 according to the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and gamma-glutamyltransferase (γ-GTP) were investigated. The liver enzyme levels were categorized as A (normal), B (borderline elevation), and R (definite elevation) following the standard of the National Health Insurance Service of Korea. RESULTS: The incidence rate of IFG or DM based on ALT level was 9.7 % for the A, 30.0 % for B, and 15.4 % for R. According to γ-GTP, the incidence rate was 9.8 % for A, 34.5 % for B, and 25.0 % for R. The relative risk(RR) to the incidence of IFG or DM depending on the level of ALT were 3.09 in B and 1.59 in R compared to A. According to γ-GTP, RR was 3.52 in B and 2.55 in R compared to A. AST level was not related to the incidence of IFG or DM. A multiple logistic regression analysis with the incidence of IFG or DM as a dependent variable resulted in an odds ratio of 2.664(1.214–5.849) for B level ALT, 3.685(1.405–9.667) for B level of γ-GTP even after adjustment for other variables such as age, sex, body mass index, AUDIT score, systolic blood pressure, and triglyceride. CONCLUSIONS: Even borderline elevations of ALT and γ-GTP, but not AST, increased the incidence and risk of IFG or DM after 7 years. Borderline elevation of ALT and γ-GTP was identified as an independent risk factor of IFG or DM.
Alanine Transaminase ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Diabetes Mellitus* ; Fasting* ; Follow-Up Studies* ; gamma-Glutamyltransferase ; Glucose* ; Incidence* ; Korea ; Liver* ; Logistic Models ; National Health Programs ; Odds Ratio ; Risk Factors ; Triglycerides

BACKGROUND: To identify adverse pulmonary health effects due to air pollution derived from a cement plant in Korea. The emphysema prevalence in residents around a cement plant was compared to that in the group who live far away from the plant by chest films (PA and lateral view) and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) lung images. METHODS: From June to August in 2013 and from August to November in 2014, chest films and HRCT scan were conducted on residents over the age of 40 who lived around a cement plant. The residents were divided into two groups; a “more exposed group (MEG)” which consisted of 1,046 people who lived within a 1 km radius and a “less exposed group (LEG)” which consisted of 317 people who lived more than 5 km away from the same plant. We compared the emphysema prevalence and estimated the OR of this between the MEG and the LEG by using a chi-square and logistic regression on chest films and HRCT. RESULTS: The emphysema prevalence was 9.1 % in the LEG, 14.3 % in the MEG on chest films and 11.4 %, 17.8 % on the HRCT, respectively. The OR of the emphysema prevalence in MEG was 2.92 (95 % CI 1.77-4.83) on the chest films, 2.56 (95 % CI 1.64–3.99) on the HRCT after sex, age, body mass index (BMI), smoking history, residency period and firewood used history were adjusted. The OR in the less than 29 pack-years smoking history was 1.66 (95 % CI 0.92–3.06) and in the more than 30 pack-years was 3.05 (95 % CI 1.68–5.52) on the chest films, and was 1.68 (95 % CI 0.98–2.90), 2.93 (95 % CI 1.72–4.98) on the HRCT, respectively. CONCLUSION: The emphysema prevalence seems to be affected by the level of exposure to air pollution derived from the cement plant as well as sex, age, BMI, and smoking history in this study. Moreover, the OR of the case of the more exposed to the air pollution was similar to that of the case in smoking.
Air Pollution* ; Body Mass Index ; Emphysema* ; Internship and Residency ; Korea ; Leg ; Logistic Models ; Lung ; Plants* ; Prevalence* ; Radius ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Thorax

BACKGROUND: Dengue fever is one of the most dominant vector-borne diseases, putting approximately 3.9 billion people at risk worldwide. While it is generally vector-borne, other routes of transmission such as needlestick injury are possible. Laboratory workers can be exposed to dengue virus transcutaneously by needlestick injury. This is the first case, to our knowledge, of dengue virus infection by needlestick injury in a laboratory environment. This paper evaluates the risk and related health concerns of laboratory workers exposed to dengue virus. CASE PRESENTATION: We evaluated a 30-year-old female laboratory worker exposed to the dengue virus by needlestick injury while conducting virus filtering. During admission, she showed symptoms of fever, nausea, myalgia, and a characteristic maculopapular rash with elevated aspartate aminotransferase (AST) of 235 IU/L and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) of 269 IU/L. She had been diagnosed by a positive nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) antigen (Ag) rapid test one day prior to symptom onset along with positive immunoglobulin M (IgM) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) on the ninth day of symptom onset. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), also conducted on the ninth day, was negative. After proper symptomatic treatment, she recovered without any sequelae. As a result of thorough epidemiologic investigation, it was determined that she had tried to recap the needle during the virus filtering procedure and a subsequent needlestick injury occurred. CONCLUSIONS: In the context of health promotion of laboratory workers, we suggest that the laboratory biosafety manual be revised and reinforced, and related prevention measures be implemented. Furthermore, health authorities and health care providers in Korea should be fully informed of proper dengue fever management.
Adult ; Alanine Transaminase ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Dengue Virus* ; Dengue* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Exanthema ; Female ; Fever ; Health Personnel ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin M ; Korea* ; Myalgia ; Nausea ; Needles ; Needlestick Injuries* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Reverse Transcription